A Divided Opinion
by Caitriona3
Summary: Winter Shock #4 - The SHIELD team arrives to pick up the Tromso crew...things get a little tense. Note - You must read the previous stories in this series or this will make no sense.


_Author's Note: Don't know if this was what you were expecting, but I hope you enjoy!_

Darcy sat on one of the empty desks, legs swinging as she waited for the inevitable SHIELD goons to show up. She could hear Jane muttering and making dire promises for revenge as she double checked the packing of her vital instruments. Bucky had elected to do another pass through the building to make sure they hadn't missed anything, though Darcy wagered he wanted to get out of the room before he started chuckling at Jane's wild speculation on the damage SHIELD might cause her machines. Jane had barely slept since getting the call to pack and so her brain-to-mouth filter was once more on the fritz. That left Darcy to mind the door and be the official meet-and-greet person for whoever drew the short straw.

Honestly, if SHIELD didn't start posting warnings about their little group soon, Darcy was going to be very disappointed – she and Jane tried to irritate them on a regular basis…religiously.

The door opened and three people entered, cautious and wary-eyed as they gave the room a quick once over. One was a striking red-headed woman who probably pissed off half the women on the planet just for existing, though Darcy thought the cold, ancient eyes might ruin the effect. They seemed to know too much, even for SHIELD's paranoid 'we must know everything' attitude. Next to her, the guy in front actually, stood the definition of tall, blond, and built…well, at least if your taste ran to clean-cut all-American and you hadn't met Thor. The dude was dreamy, Darcy would admit, but she liked her guys a little less Boy Scout and a little more edgy. Finally she looked at the third member of their pick-up team and grinned.

"Hey, Barton," she chirped before tucking her phone away. "About time you lot showed up. Jane and I are kind of tired of dealing with SHIELD's Z team."

"Heard you've been giving them grief, Lewis," Clint snarked at her.

"'Z' team?" the red-head interrupted, one eyebrow going up in question.

"They better not be in the first half of the alphabet," Darcy scoffed. "My respect for SHIELD as jack-booted thugs of the highest order will take a serious nosedive. Those guys need GPS, a compass, and a map to find their own backsides."

"Harsh," Clint frowned. "You're not usually that cutting about it."

"Yeah, well, you try getting abducted once, avoid getting abducted another three times, and dealing with the 'pass the buck' blame game with those numbskulls," she tossed back. "Makes a girl all kinds of irritated." Before anyone could say anything else, Darcy turned to holler over her shoulder. "Jane! SHIELD's here!"

"Which ones?" Jane yelled back, not bothering to come and check. "If it's not our taxi, tell them to go away!"

Darcy tuned back and eyed them all for a moment. "It's been a day," she shrugged. "And Jane's in a mood." Then she called out again. "Pretty sure it's our ride home! One's a red-headed woman decked in leather."

"Make sure she doesn't have chains!"

"That's more than I ever wanted to know about what Jane might have experimented with as a crazy undergrad," she muttered before continuing in a louder voice. "We also got an overgrown Boy Scout!"

"Check his ID! It's always the nice looking ones!"

Clint raised an eyebrow and Darcy sighed. "Lack of sleep plus the idea of SHIELD's hands all over her machines again is making for an unhappy Jane," she explained, replying to both his unspoken question and the confusion on the other two. She smiled at Clint. "I think we can trust them," she tossed back towards Jane again. "They've got Barton with them!"

A couple of moments passed in silence before Jane called out. "Which one was Barton again?"

"Oh, that is too easy," Darcy murmured even as a wicked grin crawled across her face. Mischief danced in her eyes even as she winked at Clint. "You know him, boss lady," she answered loudly. "He's the guy with the bow and arrow…not to mention the eyes and the-" 

"Darcy!" Jane popped out from behind one of the machines. Exasperation shown in her eyes even as a flush seemed to crawl up her cheeks. "What is wrong with you?" she demanded, stalking over to smack Darcy's arm.

"Hey, I'm just repeating what you said," Darcy protested, her wide-eyed innocent look spoiled by the lurking smirk.

"Don't," Jane ordered before looking at the SHIELD team. "It's going to take more than just you three to move the machines, and I will be very, very unhappy if something gets broken."

The blond guy finally stepped up and gave a bright smile. "Don't worry, ma'am, I'm sure we can handle it."

"Told you," Darcy nudged her friend. "Total Boy Scout." Then she scowled at Clint. "Come on, Barton, introductions anytime, really."

"Nag, nag," he teased before looking at his team. "Guys, meet Dr. Jane Foster, astrophysicist, and her assistant, Darcy Lewis." Then his eyes tracked over to the two women. "Ladies, Agent Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers."

Something flickered in Darcy's memory, but it died away before she could grasp it. "No 'agent'?" she asked instead as she gave Steve a quick once over.

"No, ma'am," he replied. "Not an agent."

"Huh, and they just let you hang around their playground?"

Footsteps on the stairs drew everyone's attention before he could answer. A few seconds more and a pair of legs topped with a large box stepped into the room. Bucky's voice came around the box hiding him from view. "Jane! Forget something?"

Steve and Natasha stiffened even as Jane hurried over. Darcy frowned at the two of them. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"That voice…" Steve began hesitantly, but his reply tapered off as he stared at the still unseen figure who seemed to be waiting patiently for Jane to finish telling him something. Natasha did not answer. She merely shifted slightly. Small as it was, the movement managed to place her firmly between Bucky and her teammates, and that made Darcy nervous.

She slipped down from the desk, trying to ease closer to her friends, and casually tucked her hands into her jacket pockets. "So, our ride ready yet, or what?"

Clint's eyes tracked between his two companions and he opened his mouth to reply. Just at that moment, Bucky put the box down and his face became visible for the first time. Steve froze, but Natasha jerked back, pushing him towards Clint and bringing up a gun from somewhere. She sighted on Bucky.

"Hey!" Darcy threw herself between the two groups.

Natasha did not even bother to look at her. "Move, Miss Lewis."

"Like hell," Darcy shot back. Her eyes darted to Clint. "Call her off."

"Widow," Clint started.

"He's dangerous," Natasha interrupted, her eyes and her aim never wavering. "Very dangerous."

"No fricking kidding," Darcy rolled her eyes. "But not to us."

Natasha's lips thinned. "Miss Lewis, I do not want to shoot you, but I will do what is necessary."

"You'll have to shoot me too," Jane announced, stepping up beside Darcy.

Steve shook off his inertia. "Nobody is shooting anybody," he informed them. "Widow, stand down."

"Captain," she started to protest.

"Darcy," Bucky spoke softly. "You and Jane need to move."

"Let me repeat," Darcy tossed over her shoulder without looking, "like hell! I…" Jane nudged her and Darcy nodded. "_We_ are not going to let her shoot you."

"She won't," Steve told them, even as his eyes remained focused on Bucky.

"Right, and we're supposed to believe you, why?" she sniffed. "The gun is still out, still pointed in this direction, and she's still giving you the 'are you crazy' look. We don't exactly have the most trusting relationship with SHIELD," she continued. "They've stolen our stuff, stuck us in the middle of Norway with a band of idiots, and now Miss Thing here wants to shoot the guy who's been doing SHIELD's job of keeping us safe for months." Her eyes flared. "There are two people from SHIELD we might be willing to trust and take their word. You've only got one of them here, and he sure doesn't look like he expects you to talk her out of shooting."

It was true. Clint's expression drifted from concern to resigned, but it did not look hopeful.

Steve drew in a breath, but another voice interrupted before he could speak. "Agent Romanoff, stand down."

"Sir," Natasha agreed reluctantly, holstering her weapon.

"Oh, look," Darcy stage-whispered to Jane. "It's Agent iPod thief."

Phil Coulson gave her a bland look. "If you will release your taser, Miss Lewis?"

"Don't know what you're talking about," she replied, pulling her hands out of her pockets. She gave him a thorough once over. "You look like hell."

"I'm sure," he agreed drily. His eyes moved to a spot over her shoulder. "Mr. Barnes," he greeted quietly.

Bucky did not reply. Darcy and Jane both turned to look. He stood there, eyes shifting between Steve and Natasha, a spark of something flickering in them. That lost, broken look crept into his face once more and she knew he was trying to search his memory, trying to remember why they seemed familiar. He flinched and both women reached for him at the same moment.

"That's enough," Darcy scolded. "You know your brain doesn't like you trying to force the memories." He gave her a haunted look and she went for a gentle smile. "We'll figure it out," she encouraged him. "We just need more time… Well," she paused to look back at Natasha, "more time and Miss Agent there to avoid the whole trigger-happy attitude."

"Bucky is one of ours," Jane's voice broke in. She stood defiantly in front of Coulson. "He's been here, keeping us safe ever since the first abduction."

"First?" Coulson replied softly. Something shifted in his gaze.

Bucky spoke up. "We met when they were brought in to share my prison cell," he told the attentive agent. "We escaped and came here. There have been four more attempts since then."

"Four?" Jane and Darcy chorused. They glanced at each other and then at Bucky. Darcy poked him in the ribs. "Did you forget to mention something?" He gave her a little half smile and she huffed at him.

Coulson broke in before she could continue her scolding. "None of these made it into the official reports," he noted, as if absently to the room.

"Go figure," Darcy muttered as Jane rolled her eyes. "I'm telling you, it's the 'Z' team. Did they even bother to call or mention we'd expanded our little club by one?" The SHIELD team exchanged dark glances and she smirked. "Oh, look at that," she drawled out. "I do believe they let you walk in blind."

"We came straight here," Clint shrugged, his face taking on a distant look, as Coulson glanced at him. "We didn't bother stopping by the office – just checked in over phone. Got a few complaints about Doc Foster, Darcy, and something about attitudes."

"I see," Coulson nodded once. "I'll need to have words with Agent Chesil. His reports do not indicate any additional personnel. It also appears to have omitted any abduction attempts."

"Z team," Darcy repeated sarcastically. Then she stopped, head tilting to one side in consideration. "Hey," she spoke slowly, "what's with the freak-out on Bucky anyway?"

Natasha's eyes narrowed, but she remained silent as Coulson raised an eyebrow at her.

"He…" Steve tried to speak, but stopped. His brow furrowed and then he spoke directly to the man just behind Darcy. "Bucky? It's Steve." He started to step forward only to hesitate as Bucky shifted back. Clint and Natasha shifted, just enough to draw closer in support without crowding him.

Coulson stepped forward. "James 'Bucky' Barnes went missing in action during the last years of World War II."

Both women blinked before glancing back at Bucky. Confusion, irritation, and a hint of fear glinted in his eyes. Jane moved to stand beside him, patting his arm. "Don't worry," she told him. "We've seen weirder."

"True," Darcy nodded and smiled up at him. "Besides, you look pretty good for a guy approaching his centennial." Bucky frowned at her, exasperation wiping away the darker emotions.

"Darcy," Jane sighed while the others stared in bewilderment. She rolled her eyes. "Your priorities, I swear."

"What?" she shrugged. "It's true."


End file.
